Lion King: The Lost Prince
by GrammarKnighty
Summary: A what-if story. Imagine the Kion we've come to known was not raised by his own parents. Instead, an old hyena we love did instead. Kion, son of Shenzi... or is his name something else now? One-shot.


The Lost Prince

 _Full summary:_ ** _Nala has just delivered Simba's second cub. He is extremely happy when he finds out it is a boy. Simba and Nala only have time to name him before Zazu alerts them of a group of rogue lions who are invading the Pridelands. They are stopped, but at a cost; the cub is kidnapped. King Simba orders his best hunters to look for his infant son. After a long moon of not finding him, they give up and Simba swears to Nala he will protect their only child, Kiara. Meanwhile in the Outlands, an outcast hyena finds a lion cub on her cave entrance._**

•••

There she was, lying tiredly on the hard floor of the den. She lay there, holding a beautiful cub in her arms. "Nala!" Rafiki the mandrill moved to give King Simba and his wife some space. He rubbed his forehead gently against hers, earning a weak chuckle from the lioness. "How is the cub?"

"As fine as he can be, your majesty." At her words, he beamed with joy.

"He? I have a son?" She silenced him. When he looked down, he saw the small cub sleeping contently. Looking at him, he was reminded a bit of his late father.

"Where's Kiara?" Nala was rather surprised to not see her energetic daughter shouting she had a little brother.

"I left her with Timon and Pumbaa. They're going to love hearing this news." He affectionately nuzzled the cub. "What are we going to name him?"

"I've been thinking a lot these past days. Remember the story you loved when we were kids?" Simba nodded. "I want him to be like the brave warrior, one who always stands for his family."

"Kiongozi? You really are good at picking names," he said, hiding his disappointment of not being able to name him after his grandfather, especially with a few similarities they shared. He looked again at the cub, his son. "Kion, you will be the greatest, strongest, bravest warrior there ever is, and I will be the one to lead you there." It seemed as if he understand what he was saying because, slowly, the cub groaned. Simba was about to smile when his face was covered by wet liquid. Kion had sneezed.

"He will." Nala laughed tiredly. At that moment, none of them thought anything could go wrong, until a blue hornbill flew in, gasping so much no one could guess what he was trying to say.

The lion king pulled the bird by wing. "What is happening?"

"Rogue lions!" Those two words were enough for him. He glared at the frightened bird.

"Gather the pack! Tell them to do whatever they can to stop the trespassers. I will join them later."

"Yes, sire!" He readied his wings to fly again after Simba released him.

"And tell Timon and Pumbaa to come here along with Kiara. I don't want her harmed."

"Understood!"

Nala looked at her mate with a tinge of worry. "Please be safe." she said to which he replied he would be fine. He then asked Rafiki and his mother, Sarabi, to look after her and Kion, and off he went.

"Where are they?" He asked a heavily injured lioness he found on his way and helped her. He immediately bolted away once she pointed at the direction.

Meanwhile, in the den, Nala, Sarabi, and Rafiki sat in silence, glancing looks of worries to each other. Kion, too, seemed to feel the same for the he let out a sad cry. "Don't cry, my dear sweet Kion. Mommy's here," Nala licked his head for a few time. "The sun has already set. Is he alright out there?"

Rafiki felt his body shudder for a moment, the result of a sudden cold wind. "One can never guess…" Something was telling him there would be an undesirable event happening. "Lost…"

"Are you alright, Rafiki?" He turned to look at the grandmother of the cub.

"I'm an old tree, Sarabi. Nala, how about resting for a while before Kiara busies you with questions? We can look after your son."

The panting lioness nodded, too tired to do anything. Her wish did not become reality though as a flock of vultures barge right in and tried to attack the mandrill. He managed to dodge and his attacker got a swing of his staff. "Now, that's rude. Sarabi, get your family out!" As the two tried to find a way out, one of them honestly complained that they should have at least a guard. Kion was safely carried by the older lioness.

Rafiki hold the weapon in his hand firmly as the leader stepped forward. There were flames in their eyes, one was tame sun and the other void dark.

"We'll see about that."

"Mzingo."

•••

"Who sent you?" Simba pressed both his forelegs onto the lion beneath him. "I said, who sent you?" The lion however did not answer but instead closed his eyes. He looked as if he was surrendering. The king shifted his eyes from his opponent to others'. The hunting lionesses faced the same acting as the one he fought with.

A voice entered his ears. "Your majesty!" One of the lionesses pointed to the top of Priderock. There were vultures surrounding it. Suddenly, a feeling of worries came through him, then anger.

"You, come with me! All the others, don't let any of them get away!"

All the way to his home, only one thought raced in his mind. Please be safe!

•••

Simba and the lioness accompanying him got into the place where the king had left Rafiki with his family. Instead of seeing his wife and son, he saw the mandrill in an almost unconscious state, trying to get back to his feet. He rushed towards him and asked where his family was.

Rafiki was too weak to answer, but somebody else did it for him.

"Simba," It was Nala. She was breathing hard, and tears were going down her faces. Beside her was Sarabi who was frowning and glaring at the ground. Both of them had cuts and talon marks all over their face. However, there was no sight of any cub at all. Simba's heart raced and he almost fell when his wife confirmed his suspicion. "They took Kion."

•••

It was a slow and painful month. Lionesses and birds were scattered all over the lands, past the kingdom's border without yet a news of the missing royal cub. Simba paced back and forth on Priderock outside the den, the place where he could ease his mind, waiting for his trusted majordomo.

"Simba?" Nala approached him.

He turned and realized she was alone. "Where's Kiara?" His worries grew at the absence of his first-born. Nala calmed him down by saying she left her with his mother.

She placed a paw on his shoulder, looking at him straight in the eyes. "Simba, stop," His eyes hardened hearing that. She was pleading him to end this torture, to end the suffering of waiting for their son who was never going to return. "Look at what this has done to our daughter!"

Kiara, a once cheerful and lively cub, was now passing her time alone mostly thinking of her baby brother she had never met. Simba had seen her sat in the corner of the den, a few day after she was told of the news, talking to herself. "Once all this is over, we all can be happy again. I promise you that." Simba attempted to wrap his hind feet over her, but was pushed back by the lioness.

"I'm not talking about Kion, Simba! I'm talking about you. You neglected Kiara! We neglected her. I can't bear losing another child of mine anymore!" She gave her pleading look to him, begging him to just stop hurting the others and himself. "Please…"

Zazu descended in front of them. "Sire?" Simba averted his attention to the hornbill. He was shaking, wings circling one another in a terrified and nervous manner.

"Yes, Zazu?" He demanded.

"Sire, I'm afraid…" He gulped. "Prince Kion is no longer with us," That was what broke the king.

"Ah, sire, please think this over first!" He tried to escape but was pinned down by the king.

Simba growled and bared his fangs at the hornbill under his paw's weight. "Don't you ever dare!"

"Simba, enough of this! Can't you see? We've lost him… forever…" The cracking in her voice finally brought sense to him. He released Zazu and quickly went to her, enveloping his heartbroken wife into his grasp. "He's gone, Simba." The king tried not to hear those words through her sobbing.

"I'm terribly sorry, sire." Zazu bowed before flying away towards his nest.

Simba was left with a tearing Nala and the sight of the black cloudy sky. He waited there, waiting for any reassurance from the Great King of the Past, his father, who never came. He grimaced. Nala was right.

He looked upon the lioness who always brought him joy. He brought his head closer to hers. "I'll protect you and Kiara. No one will ever take my family away from me again. Never. I promise." He licked her tears.

The two stayed there like that, walking past a name they would never forget; Kion, their son.

•••

Shenzi stood at her cave entrance, staring at the view of rocks upon rocks upon another. Her hunt had not been as successful as she had hoped. And so, she was left with an empty stomach once again. She rubbed it a little

"Still, it's not that bad, being a lone hyena and all," she chuckled and looked at the darkening sky. "At least I'm free to do whatever I want,"

The first raindrop fell entered her eye. She blinked a few times. "Oops, better find shelter. Ugh, cold..."

She found a cave not further away. There, she stretched and relaxed her sore muscles after so much work. The rain poured full force. "I think I worked too hard today. Night, world!" she let out a yawn any mother would have a fit hearing.

Shenzi was about embrace her sleep when a loud noise interrupted. It took three times before she was convinced her age was not coming to her. "Okay, who's making that cry? Can't you see an old lady trying to sleep here?" She attempted to shut it by covering her ears. It failed terribly. "Okay, that's enough! I'm going there," she half growled and half groaned.

"Let's see who you ar--Mzingo!" A vulture stood on the cave's entrance. She took a step back. The rain almost muted the cry she had been hearing, but she could clearly locate its source with only her eyes; a lion cub lay peacefully on the ground. She turned from the cub to him and glared. "I didn't remember inviting you for dinner,"

"Thank you for your concern. This cub and I truly appreaciate your warm welcome," Mzingo lowered his head towards her. She huffed and turned away into the cave, letting them in. The vultures entered and carried the cub using his talons.

"What do you want? And don't tell me you've just become a father," Shenzi looked at the cub Mzingo had just placed at the corner.

"As preposterous as that claim is, I came to ask for your help,"

"Ask for help? Now that's preposterous!" Shenzi turned to look at the still sleeping cub before resuming her outburst.

"After you got me kicked out of my clan, left me by myself, then got me kicked out of my new clan, you want my help by bringing this"--she gestured at the cub--"tiny Mufasa here? Did you hit your head somewhere, Mzingo?"

"Yes, yes. A lot of time, actually," he rolled his eyes, but then became serious. "This is Mufasa's grandso--Ah! What are you doing? Stop," He brought up his wings to protect himself from her, disappointingly in her opinion, rather weak attempt at an assault.

"No, no, no, no! I've had enough of you. I'm not getting tricked again," Shenzi ceased from attacking seeing as she couldn't do much damage anyway. "Do what you want, Mzingo. Take over the Pridelands for all I care. I'm not destroying my life again. It's already bad as it is,"

Huffing, Shenzi turned away and went futher inside, resting her body beside the wall to continue her disturbed sleep earlier. She could only hear Mzingo sighing since her eyes were closed, both to find sleep and to annoy said bird.

"He's your chance to get into the Pridelands," Mzingo started talking, the cub's voice nowhere to be heard he might as well have been moved someplace else. She just ignored his attempt to get her attention, which she admitted actually worked. Be that as it may, she didn't open her eyes at all, though her ears did perk. "Imagine. You, a hyena who used to work under Scar, took care and raised the king's son as her own son. It would do well for your reputation. Once the king no longer sees you as a threat, you'll be allowed into the Pridelands. Not that he'd have much of a choice anyway. You're the mother of his son,"

"That sounds so wrong on so many grounds," Shenzi commented, finally willing to open her eyes, only to realize the cub had been in front of her all along, unmoving. The only sign he was still living was the rhytmic up and down of his chest. His fur, she finally cared enough to notice, was soaked. She didn't try commenting on Mzingo's similar condition, not wanting to enflate his ego.

"Try seeing it my way, Shenzi. How beneficial would it be for you,"

"All I see is a greedy bald bird trying to force an old lady into things she wouldn't do. What do you want me to do? Raise this sweet cub here, that is definitely the opposite of your deceitful personality, till he's of the right age, then bring him and myself and convince the king to make me a Pridelander using the excuse of me being his mother? Then what? Secretly gives you food so nobody would suspect me of being their enemy, in turn giving you a lot of time before I finally rot away before you choose another poor hyena to pick on?" Shenzi inhaled a few deep breath.

Mzingo just smirked. She just growled, since the plan seemed it could work.

"Do we have a deal?"

Shenzi didn't dare say any word. She looked at the cub before her, taking in his little form that rose and fall every so often. She looked up to him, in the literal sense.

"The cub. What is his name?"

"Kion, your majesty," He laughed at the title he gave her. He was having too much fun with this, while she would have to suffer doing more works for him. "That's what they call him, as far as I heard,"

Shenzi returned to look at the cub. He was beginning to cry, which she blamed on Mzingo. By the time the little creature locked his eyes with hers, her reflection staring back at her from his eyes, Shenzi felt a newfound feeling emerging deep inside of her.

"Kopa. I'll call him Kopa. Always been fond of that name,"

"Name him as you like. The deal is set. When the time comes, I'll bring the parents to you, and you can handle the rest. I hope for you the best, Shenzi, and your son," With that, he turned and walked to the entrance before stretching his wings and taking off to the sky.

Shenzi, left alone with Kion, or Kopa as she had renamed him, could only stare back at the faintly crying cub, not having the faintest of idea of what to do, or at least not willing to do. Mzingo's words echoed in her conscience. "Pridelander, he says," She shook her head.

Silently, she circled the lion cub before settling by his side, cradling him into her embrace, providing him warmth that ceased his cries. "Night... Kopa." her son...

•••

 _Author note:_

 ** _Just for fun... Hope you enjoyed it, or got new plotbunnies._**


End file.
